A Year of Ghosts and Magic Version 2
by PhoenixTamashii
Summary: When an 'accident' leaves a 10 year old Danny orphaned he is sent to England and weird things start happening all around him. So much for his aunt and uncle hoping he was normal. This is the rewrite.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello I am finally back having finished university. I am sorry to disappoint all who were waiting for an update but this is a rewrite. I was just going to continue where I had left off with this story but after trying to get back into it now that I have the time to write I just want to start again. I just don't feel I can continue the story in its current state.**

**There was a lot I left out while trying to get to Hogwarts because for some reason I don't remember I thought that was best for the story and for some reason I had this same problem with how closely I stuck to the books in some parts of the story. This was my first crossover and I really want to give it a second go. I hope that you give this a chance.**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter all I have are any OCs that may appear**

#

Vlad rolled his eyes as he phased into the dark living room from the street outside, the Fenton's ghost security system was offline again. Probably broken down for some other invention in a moment of inspiration. Oh well at least this way there would be no unexpected offline time on the black box he knew was attached to the system. Floated down into the lab and started to investigate each of the inventions that had been left strewn about the benches for one that could be used in his plan. It had to be something that Jack would work on tomorrow for certain but the only way to ensure that was for all the other inventions to disappear. It was highly unlikely that Jack would notice the missing inventions as far as Vlad was concerned. Vlad cleared away all but what he concluded to be the latest invention Jack had been working on.

"D...Dhaaaad?" Came a quiet word swallowed up by a yawn that also forced closed the eyes of the young child that had just come down the stairs into the lab.

Vlad had been very careful not to wake any of the family but now standing at the bottom of the stairs was a half asleep ten year old Daniel who in recovering from the yawn had spotted Vlad and was trying to decide whether to run or scream for his parents that he had thought had been in the lab.

Daniel couldn't be allowed to wake his parents. He flew quickly towards the child and overshadowed him. It was easy after all the will of a child couldn't stop him. It however did feel strange to be inside such a small body. He took the boy back to his room before leaving the body letting Daniel drop lightly onto his bed once again asleep. He would take what he saw as a nightmare or even not remember it at all.

Vlad returned to the lab to set up the last parts of his plan before returning to his home across town.

#

The ground in Amity Park shook as the loud explosion thundered through the air. Vlad paled. He knew the source of the explosion, he had even planned for there to be one but small nothing like what had just happened. Something hadn't gone to plan. If things had gone to plan he would have heard nothing until the love of his life called, frantic and distraught over the loss of Jack and he would be there to comfort her. Now he had to be there for her in person, there was no way he could deny hearing that explosion.

All that was left of the three story house that was Fenton Works was rubble and mangled metal that had once been the ops center that had once stood on top of the house. There was already quite a crowd by the time Vlad arrived, many of which were helping the emergency services who had also arrived. Vlad scanned the crowd looking for baby blue and ginger. He had expected her to be right in there trying to get to Jack after all she would still need time to realise she had made the wrong choice. Nothing, not even a hint of the woman or even the children who should have been of to the side being comforted over the disaster. There was no way Maddie wouldn't have heard the explosion from the park where they normally were at this time on a Saturday. She should have been here by now, right?

Vlad practically tore his phone out of his pocket, dialling Maddie with the press of a quick dial button. Fear gripped him as the voice mail clicked in without even a dialling tone. _**Please just let her phone be out of battery**_, he didn't even dare think the D word right now even just when referring to her phone battery. He glanced to the ruins of the house before rushing over. He didn't want to even think that she might have been in there but he couldn't take the chance that she was.

Within an hour they had found a body, Jasmine. _**Stupid... how could I have been so stupid to assume that they would always end up going to the park.**_ The trips were a weekly thing but that could change and Vlad had been so certain of his plan that he didn't even think for that eventuality, he shouldn't have needed to if the small invention had just overloaded and not set off what could only have been a chain reaction.

The discovery sent Vlad into a panic to the point where he was even using his powers to aid him as he dug through the rubble. He didn't even think of the possibility of being seen all that was on his mind was getting to Maddie.

It was a lot longer before they found Maddie, floodlights were being set up so the search could continue even though most were loosing hope of finding any member of the family alive. Vlad had gone to her side so fast that any faster would have required teleportation. He held her wrist begging that the pulse was just slow or that her hazmat was just too thick. Nothing could top this, this plan was the biggest mistake he would ever make and there was no way he could fix it. It was all his fault, if he had just left the invention alone. If he had just trusted Maddie to realise her mistake and come to him in her own time. He wanted to take all of the previous day back.

He was dead to the world around him. Lost in the depression of Maddie's death. All the voices around him blended into one undecipherable mass with only the loud shouts standing out, not that he caught them either. His fist shook, how dare they so quickly just accept that she was dead. He refused to accept that there was no saving her. What had been so important that they had abandoned her. They had tried for Jasmine. He pivoted quickly fully intending on demanding they return their attention's to Maddie but froze. Paramedics and rescue workers swarmed round a section of the destroyed home. What some of the shouts had been finally sunk in. 'He's alive!' was what had been bellowed in the direction of the paramedics. It was that statement that had them rushing over. He could see even through all the dust Jack's ridiculous orange hazmat. Of course he was that cursed that the one man he wished dead would survive while the person he wanted most to live should die. A very small part of him relished the fact that Jack would suffer this lonely world too but even that thought was small consolation for Maddie's death.

Instead of pulling out Jack's large form a much smaller figure was lifted from the shifted rubble. It took Vlad a moment to realise Jack wasn't the survivor. Daniel was. The small boy was covered in dust from head to toe. His left leg was misshapen and his foot was at a horrible angle from his body. His other leg didn't appear as bad. One of his arms looked as bad as his bad leg while the other sported a clear break. Before he could even confirm for himself that Daniel still lived he was whisked away to the hospital and into emergency surgery.

#

**To be honest I have always thought that Vlad doesn't look at every eventuality when he plans. Yeah he plans in depth but I still think that through out the show he made plenty of mistakes that could have turned out as bad as this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer-I don't own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter all I have are any OCs that may appear**

#

Vlad sat in the hospital waiting room with his head in his hands. He hadn't moved since he got there. He forced his mind onto his work. He didn't dare think of anything else. His mind still ended up wandering and every time it arrived at the recent events. He would see Maddie's face and be unable to hold back the tears. He had killed her. He had killed her daughter. He had left her son alone in the world. He wasn't sure how long he had been sat there by the time someone came to tell him that Daniel had been moved onto a ward. The news only made him feel marginally better. This was all his fault and while he would never confess that the disaster was not just an accident publicly he knew he would have to take Responsibility for what he had done. He would never be able to escape the guilt and someone would need to care for Daniel. There was no way he was going to let the only piece of Maddie he had left slip through his fingers.

Vlad slowly made his way to the ward Daniel was in. The ward had many children all together. Vlad thought to himself that he would have to organise a private ward for Daniel. The boy didn't need the chaos that this ward would be come morning but for now he just sat down beside the boy's bed. Daniel was covered in bruises and and burns. The casts that held his broken leg and arms only made the other bruised limb look more fragile. He was hooked up to various machines to monitor his condition. Vlad eventually fell asleep in the chair. Nightmares of watching Maddie die haunting the short time he was asleep.

Within the next day Vlad had Daniel moved to a private room and made sure Daniel was getting the best care possible. The day after he had gathered all the legal forms he would need to adopt Daniel. He knew he would have to discuss all of this with the social worker but there was no doubt in his mind that once Daniel was read to leave the hospital he would be leaving with him, after all he was the boy's Godfather surely he was the best option.

A week and a half after the incident Daniel was awake. It was a lot sooner than Vlad had been expecting so when Daniel's eyes flickered open to find himself seriously injured in hospital Vlad had no idea how to tell him what had happened. There was only moments between him waking up and starting to ask if everyone else was all right. Vlad had hoped for more time to compose himself but Daniel was awake and asking questions. Looking at him all Vlad could see was the parts that reminded him of Maddie. Her narrow build, her face, her worried look.

"Un...Uncle Vlad? W...W...Why are... are you crying? W...What happened? W...where's everyone?"

Crying was probably the only thing he could have done wrong here and he had gone and done it. Now Daniel knew something had happened to his family. Vlad had hoped to be able to tell him quickly without giving him any false hope.

"Daniel. They didn't make it. I'm sorry."

It was like someone had frozen time. Daniel lay there with a blank look on his face shock over whelming everything else. Then suddenly like it had sped up as Vlad's words sunk in and tears streamed down his face all merging into one line from each eye.

Vlad had no idea how to comfort Daniel. Maddie would have known what to do. Vlad stayed by Daniel all night, the boy hadn't stopped crying until he had fallen asleep. Vlad watched the occasional disintegrating wisps float around the room. Spirits of the dead that probably wouldn't get as far as a full formed ghost considering how far gone they already were. It hit him like a freight train. Ghosts. What if Maddie wasn't completely lost. He highly doubted she would become a ghost truly but what if there was a wisp. He could use that. He could artificially create a ghost. He had to move fast the wisp may have already started disintegrating.

#

Danny woke up alone that morning from a nightmare he could quite remember. Yesterday was instantly at the front of his mind and he was crying again. He was terrified. Terrified that Vlad wouldn't come back. He didn't want to loose anyone else. He had been awake for a little while when Sam Manson his best friend slipped into the room in a way that very much said that she wasn't supposed to be there.

"H...hey Danny." She plonked herself in the chair Vlad had been sat in the day before. "It's good to see you."

She had been worried. Sam wasn't a crier but there was still the light puffiness round her eyes from just that. The Fentons had been like a second family to her.

Danny was glad for the company but just couldn't smile or even stopped crying. Sam sat with him doing her best to comfort him. She would freeze and stop talking every time a member of staff passed by the room to avoid getting kicked out. Danny had thought he would be left alone when a man brought him lunch which he was going to need help to eat with both his arms in casts. Both children expected the man to force Sam to leave. The man looked at Sam and then at Danny and hmmed.

"If anyone asks she's your cousin." He whispered as he reached the two.

Sam smiled and both of them muttered a thanks.

#

Helen Lewis had paid many visits to the Fenton family over the years. She had always believed that the concerns of neighbours and family for the children was unfounded. She wouldn't have called herself a friend of the family but as the social worker assigned to the family she was responsible for making sure that the children were in a safe environment. Part of her wished now as she tried to get in touch with Vlad Masters for the third time that day the she had taken the children before this accident. She sighed as the dialling tone clicked onto voice mail. She left her message asking him to get in touch figuring now that he definitely wasn't home.

It was only once she had completed the message that she realised how stupid she was being. Vlad Masters would be with Danny at the hospital. The drive was rather long. So far the only people being allowed in to see Danny were family. Which until his aunts could get over here meant only his godfather. Helen had to show her work ID before they told her which room Danny was in. She had expected to find Vlad Masters not a girl she knew was Danny's friend Sam.

"You know you're not supposed to be in here right?" She asked. She didn't mind the girl being there, Danny probably appreciated the company but she also didn't want her getting into trouble.

"M...rs Lewis, S...sam... uh..." He paused, Danny was never very good a lying. "Is... is allowed. Yeah a nurse said so."

Sam nodded. "Yeah he said to pretend I was a cousin."

Danny looked at Helen worried that she might not approve.

"Alright then. Anyway I am looking for Mr Masters, have either of you seen him today?"

Sam shook her head with a disapproving look.

"He was here last night. He was gone when I woke up."

Helen frowned, where on earth was he. What right now was more important than his godchild. "I see."

The whole trip had been pointless. She toyed with the idea of speaking to Danny about where he would like to go after he was released from the hospital but even if that would make the trip worth while she wanted to give Danny more time to recover mentally.

She left the pair to their conversations, if she couldn't get in touch with Masters then he would have to wait till she had spoken to Danny's aunts about custody.

#

The first aunt Helen called had been Danny's aunt Alicia. Helen was aware that Alicia was the oldest sister but had been completely unaware that this was not the first time the sisters had lost a sister. Alicia had been a mess over the phone now dealing with the loss of two younger sisters, a brother in law and a niece. When Helen had brought up the issue of Danny Alicia had made it clear that while she would offer him a home in a heartbeat her home just wasn't suitable for a child let alone an injured one. Either way Alicia was on her way and would be there within the next couple of days.

It was late evening when the phone started ringing in number 4 Privet Drive. Petunia Dursley answered the phone with a friendly hello masking the anger at a certain child in the house.

"Hello is this Petunia Dursley?" A woman with an American accent asked a lot less chipper than Petunia had sounded.

"Yes."

"My name is Helen Lewis. I'm a social work...er." Helen hadn't expected to be cut off.

Petunia had dropped the phone. A social worker. Had someone noticed the difference in treatment between Dudley and Harry. She would have jumped at the opportunity to be rid of the boy if it hadn't been for the fact they might take Dudley as well. Already her mind was ringing with what the neighbours might say even if they didn't take Dudley. She could hear the woman's voice calling out of the phone. Tentatively she picked it back up. Vernon was at work and she had to deal with this.

"What is this about?" She asked quickly.

Helen was confused. "H...haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?" Petunia asked.

"About your sister."

Her sister. She knew instantly that the woman was referring to Maddie, social services would have no reason to be involved with Alicia. Petunia hadn't been close to any of her remaining sisters for some time. She had though been closer to Maddie than to her older sister Alicia, mostly because Alicia didn't have a phone. Petunia had told Maddie over and over that Jack Fenton was not the sort she should associate with. Maddie would have been a perfectly respectable doctor if it were not for him. She was glad that social services were finally following up on her concerned calls about the children who had luckily been as normal as Maddie used to be. She knew Maddie would be distraught about having them taken way but there would be no reason to stop her from seeing them just not that husband of hers.

"I'm glad you are finally acting. That house is not a safe place for children."

"Oh... oh no. Oh god you don't know. Mrs Dursley... there w...was an accident. You were supposed to have been called."

An accident. "What! No! I... called. I t...told you lot. I told you."

"I'm sorry." Helen didn't know what to say, she had never had to break news like this to some one. "Y...Your nephew... Danny. He was t...the only ss...survivor."

Petunia slumped down onto the stairs. She should have been more assertive with Maddie over the danger that was that man. She should have given more evidence to social services of the danger the children were in. Maddie would have came round then. If only she had done that.

Helen stayed on the phone figuring that Mrs Dursley was alone by the lack of other voices, no one should have to deal with such news alone.

#

**I hope in this chapter I have managed to emphasise that the only reason Vlad is interested in Danny is that he is Maddie's son. He has no other reason to be interested at the moment. Also note the lack of Tucker here is not because I am writing him out he just hasn't met them yet.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer-I don't own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter all I have are any OCs that may appear**

#

Danny wasn't coping well in the hospital. He hardly ever stopped crying and until the end of his first week he only had the intermittent company of Sam who was occasionally kicked out by the more strict hospital staff. At the end of the week his Aunt Alicia had arrived. She rarely left him alone and was furious that his godfather had disappeared off in the middle of the night after breaking the news. In comparison to the nights the days had been wonderful. Danny would wake from nightmares almost the instant he had closed his eyes. Even though he could barely remember the nightmares they continued in the blackness of the room. The room felt tiny, the dark felt like it was crushing him and every noise sparked fear that this building would also come down on top of him. He couldn't get to the light switch to banish the dark. He was trapped. He would try to call for someone but his voice wouldn't come, like the dark air had stolen it away. By the end of the week he had started to sleep in the day only because he couldn't stay wake. Danny wanted out.

Danny wasn't nearly as ready for the discussion of where he was going to go upon release. Release was only even being discussed because of the state Danny was in emotionally. It was quite clear that he didn't see the hospital as the safe environment it was intended to be.

Helen personally didn't think there was much to discuss considering Vlad had vanished when Danny needed him but she felt that it wouldn't be fair on Danny to make a decision without first discussing it with him.

Danny could only remember a couple of visits to his Aunt and Uncle's house in England. He only recalled the Christmas when he was seven and another visit when he was eight during the summer. He could also only remember one time that his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin had come to visit them when he was six for Christmas. There might have been other times before but those were the ones that he could remember. When the Dursleys had come for Christmas they had been really nice to him and Jazz. Dudley had been a bit boisterous but that was the only problem till the dinner which had featured a glowing green turkey that no one but his Dad had touched. The Christmas round the Dursley's had been fun. For Danny that had been his first time in another country and he treated it like an adventure. He had so much fun that when his parents had revealed they would be visiting again a month before the summer visit he had been really excited. Jazz however wasn't so pleased with the idea and Danny couldn't work out why. Yeah Dudley wasn't that great at sharing and didn't take loosing too well but Danny had been rather protective of his toy rockets when the Dursleys had visited them. That visit wasn't as fun. It was cut short after an argument between his Aunt and his Mom.

Despite the fact that the Dursleys were nice Danny didn't want to leave home. He knew he couldn't ever truly go home but he hated the idea of leaving Amity Park. He wanted to go with Vlad but Vlad was missing. No one had seen him since the night after Danny woke up. Vlad had always been there. He visited the family on a regular basis. He was more like an Uncle to Danny than a Godfather. Danny was rather upset about Vlad's disappearance, he was scared something had happened to him. If Vlad didn't come back he would have to leave Amity Park.

The Dursley's arrived half way through the next week. During their visits was probably the quietest that Dudley had ever been in Danny's knowledge. His Aunt Petunia fussed over him and his uncle would stiffly try to say comforting things. There were long awkward silences when Dudley and Danny were left alone. Danny didn't feel like talking, by this point he was just to tired and Dudley had no idea what to say.

It was a week after the Durselys arrived when the doctors decided it was time to release Danny from the hospital. Danny was sorted out with a wheelchair and his Aunt and Uncle were talked through everything they needed to about Danny's condition. Even though they were out in the corridor with the door closed when being told this Danny could hear every word. He had never really been told how bad his injuries were. They were given a list of strong painkillers he could be given; which explained why Danny hadn't felt anything of the multiple fractures in his arms and leg. They were also given a list of antibiotics and other things he would need to take. At least he was getting out. Danny kept insisting that he was just going with them for a visit and when Vlad came back he would go home. Sam came with them to the airport to see him off she promised that she would write to him and that she would come to visit later in the summer if she could get it past her parents.

Danny waved to Sam as they boarded. He was silently wishing that Vlad would turn up right now so that he didn't have to go. Vlad didn't arrive and soon he was watching Amity Park shrink away.

#

When they touched down in London Danny's Uncle Vernon insisted on taking him for a check up. He kept saying that the American doctors couldn't be trusted to get things right. Danny shivered slightly as they entered the examination room his breath visible, the room must have been cold. The doctor was tall and rather pasty. He introduced himself as Doctor Rand. The doctor organised fresh x-rays of his broken limbs to find that the injuries were not nearly as bad as was stated in the file. Danny's left arm wasn't actually broken and there were less fractures in his other arm and leg than the records said. Uncle Vernon's face went purple when he was told the mistakes that had been made.

"The other good news is that none of the mistakes caused more harm and I will personally contact Amity Park Hospital to make sure that further mistakes aren't made." The doctor's happy tone changed to a stern one half way through his sentence.

"Good." Uncle Vernon said.

"Does this mean Danny needs different medicines?" Aunt Petunia asked worried that they might have given him to much had they not taken him for a check up.

"He'll still need the antibiotics, the last thing he needs right now is an infection. Also I think despite the challenge it will be that he would be better off using a crutch saying as he turns out not to have broken both of his arms."

The Dursleys were all for the idea of Danny using a crutch, it meant that they wouldn't need to make the house accessible for a wheelchair for the time Danny would have needed it. Danny liked the idea of being able to move round on his own.

"After going through such as ordeal I would advise organising some sessions with a psychiatrist." Doctor Rand suggested to Vernon while Danny was sorted out with a crutch instead of the wheelchair.

"Hmmm yes that may help. Is there anyone you would recommend?" Vernon definitely took a shine to the doctor.

"Doctor Spectra. She is an expert in dealing with grief and specialises in young patients. Here I have one of her cards." He dug a card out and passed it to Vernon.

Number 4 Privet Drive hadn't changed much since Danny's last visit. The only real differences were more pictures of Dudley, a new TV, a new car and various other new things that he barely noticed because despite being new most didn't differ from the old version that much. Aunt Petunia helped him up the stairs to the guest bedroom that would be his while Uncle Vernon carried up the small amount of things Danny had.

During the week Danny discovered other things had changed in the house since his last visit. The spare bedroom Jazz had used that had been a little cluttered with Dudley's things was now officially Dudley's second room. The house had a new conservatory on the back and he was fairly certain that there were mice or maybe rats living in the cupboard under the stairs.

#

Danny shivered and saw his breath as he first entered Doctor Spectra's office. He had to ask himself what was it with doctors in England and the cold anyway. "Hi you must be Danny." The spiky red haired woman who must have been Doctor Spectra said with a rather cheery tone. Danny nodded. She quickly stood up and guided him over to the sofa. "Come in, sit down and tell me all about what happened."

Danny didn't feel comfortable telling someone he had only just met about what had happened but she was there to help. The whole purpose of the sessions was to get him to talk about it and make him feel better. Nervously Danny began.

"Hmmmm... sounds to me like you distracted him."

"W...What no... I..."

"Well surely your dad never made this big of a mistake before."

"Yeah but..."

"Having to keep an eye on your child as well as invent must be very distracting."

"I... It w...wasn't my fault!"

"Oh... I'm not saying it was sweetie. It was an accident, a mistake."

Danny felt horrible after the session with Doctor Spectra. She might not have thought it was his fault but it was, he was certain of that. He had distracted his dad. He should have stayed out of the lab. He had been asking all those questions; what's this, what does it do? No wonder his dad had made a mistake. They were all dead because he had been curious.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer-I don't own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter all I have are any OCs that may appear**

**I am changing things quite a bit in this chapter. Sorry about the delay I've had a busy couple of months.**

#

Danny tossed and turned in his bed. Images of his family flicked through his dreams. Their voices tormented him with what he already knew. It had been his fault.

"It's all your fault little brother."

"Why couldn't you stay out of there?"

"You shouldn't have been down there."

"You killed us."

"So much misery little murderer."

The voice was unfamiliar and sounded like they were right by his ear. He quickly turned his head in the dream to be faced with glowing red eyes looming out of the dark with a pointed toothed grin barely visible on the mostly unseen figure's face.

Danny shot awake sobbing. Something moved in the dark to his left. His head whipped round. In the dark his curtain shifted and some shadowy form departed through the small gap that he could only tell was present from the small amount of light from the outside world. The curtain fell closed. Danny sat awake staring at the window. What had that been. Danny didn't sleep again that night.

When morning came the first thing Danny did was check the window. He must have imagined the whole thing, the window had never been open. If there was someone in his room they couldn't have left through there.

Danny limped awkwardly down the stairs while Dudley walked towards the door banging his Smeltings stick off the walls. Dudley snatched the mail from where it was stuck halfway through the letter box. He thrust two letters in Danny's direction the one on top was definitely from Sam.

Dudley went pale and gripped tightly the letters he had been passing to Danny. It hadn't been Danny's letters that had bothered his cousin it was something written on the envelope of the next letter down that had set the boy off.

"Dudley? What's wrong?" Danny asked peering over Dudley's broad shoulders to see strange parchment envelope.

Dudley snapped out of it and bolted down the corridor to the kitchen away from Danny. He still had a hold of Danny's letters.

"Hey Dudley wait up you still have my letters!" Danny called limping after him.

By the time Danny had made his way into the kitchen his letters were in front of his normal seat and the mysterious letter was gone. His Aunt and Uncle were avoiding his questioning looks and Dudley looked really nervous. Danny sat down for breakfast trying to remember what had been written on the back of the envelope. H... H he was sure that the name had started with a H. No that was the initial of the first name. What was the last name though? Peters? No but definitely P. Pots... Potter!

"Who's H Potter?" He mused aloud.

His uncle Vernon made a strange sort of strangled noise and went red. "No one!" He snapped.

"That letter Dudley brought in had that name on it."

"He's the person that lived here before us." Petunia stated briskly.

"Oh." With that Danny let the subject drop, clearly his Aunt and Uncle didn't want to talk about this person.

He finished his breakfast and left with the letters. It wasn't till he was half way through reading his letter from Sam when he realised what was wrong. His Aunt and Uncle had lived in the house for as long as he could remember. It had definitely been four years. Would someone really still be trying to contact the person. He knew there had been something else odd about the letter but he couldn't remember what it had said after all he had only glanced the green lettering.

#

That night the nightmare returned.

"It's all your fault little brother."

"Why couldn't you stay out of there?"

"You shouldn't have been down there."

"You killed us."

Red glowing eyes loomed out of the darkened lab. Pointed teeth gave a confident grin as the eyes approached. The figure reached for him and the whole place came crumbing down around him. He caught sight of a large lump of ceiling falling towards him, he needed to move.

Danny woke when pain shot through his broken leg as the cast impacted with the floor. He was surrounded by the dark. Someone had come in after he fell asleep and turned out the light. Through the dark it looked like the walls were bowing in towards him. Memories and the nightmare filled him. He needed to get out before the room collapsed on him. Subconsciously he knew it wouldn't or he would have tried to wake his remaining family. Using his crutch that was beside the bed he forced himself to stand. He was taking quick frantic breaths feeling like there just wasn't enough air in the room. As quickly as he could manage he got himself out of the room. The upstairs corridor was worse. He knew it was narrow but now it felt like there was barely enough room to pass through. Hope pierced the panic in the form of light coming in through the front door window from the street-lights outside. Outside there would enough space.

The stairs was a challenge, it was easier to go up because he could just use the crutch to pull himself up. He got down onto the landing when it felt like his legs had decided to fall asleep on him. The pins and needles style tingling spread up from there and within the same minute he was falling into pure darkness as the solid surface of the landing gave way beneath him.

#

After the incident at the Zoo Harry had been in his cupboard practically 24/7. He had one free week but that had been spent at Ms Figg's while the Dusleys had gone to America to pick up the cousin he had never met. Other than that he had only been out at night under the instruction of his aunt to only be out long enough for food and to use the toilet. The Dusleys had been very adamant he and his cousin were not to meet. All he knew about his cousin was that the boy had recently lost his family in an accident.

Harry was half awake and contemplating leaving his cupboard for a little to stretch his legs. It wasn't fun being in this cramped a space for so long. He shifted to get up but stopped when he heard the thumps of movement in the upstairs corridor. At first he thought it was uncle Vernon but then realised that every other thump was louder. The footsteps were his injured cousin's. He sighed and settled back down onto his bed, he wasn't leaving the cupboard for a little while. When the thumps reached the landing just above him dust fell and then something a lot larger than the dust bunnies. Harry yelled and had the wind knocked out of him. Whatever had fallen on him whimpered and scrambled away from him.

Harry could just make out the shape of a scrawny figure half curled up on himself. Half because one of his legs was in a cast along with the opposite arm which made curling up actually pretty hard. The figure was his cousin. His cousin was shaking and muttering something over and over again.

Harry pulled the light cord that hung by his head to turn on the light. His cousin flinched away when the light turned on. He glanced up nervously taking in the small space.

He tries to comfort his cousin

"Hey are you alright?" Harry asked crawling down the bed towards him.

"I... I..." He kept casting glances at the walls and the door.

Harry helped Danny out of the cupboard and into the living room. Danny relaxed a bit more in the larger space. Light from the street lamps helped to calm Danny.

Who are you

"Wh... Who are you?" Danny asked.

Harry

"Harry... Harry Potter."

They said you don't live here any more why were you in there

"Potter? Wait but Aunt Petunia said you didn't live here any more. What were you doing in there?"

"That's were I sleep. She's my aunt too. I've lived here for as long as I can remember."

"She lied. Why would she do that."

"They didn't want you meeting me."

"How did you get in there anyway?"

I don't know.

"I... I... don't know. I was just coming down the stairs. Next thing I knew I was falling."

Danny didn't remember falling asleep while talking to Harry but still he woke up back in his bed. He had to wonder if the previous night had been part of the dream he thought he had woke from. It would make sense if it was a dream. He had fallen through the floor into the cupboard under the stairs, people couldn't go through solid objects like that. On top of that why on earth would his aunt and uncle want to hide another cousin from him. His aunt and uncle said nothing about having to carry him back up to bed and didn't ask why he had been down there. That only cemented his belief that it had all been a dream.

There were more letters addressed to H Potter that morning. Who ever was sending these letters was persistent but how did they know that they hadn't gotten to the right person. He wondered if the mysterious letter yesterday had inspired him to invent Harry. Danny was a little clumsier than usual that day.

He was sitting at the desk in his room when he noticed it. His hand was gone. He could still feel it but he couldn't see it. He couldn't take his eyes from the spot where his hand should have been. He used his other hand to prod at the unnaturally empty space. He didn't know how to process what he was seeing. He wanted to freak out but at the same time he just wanted his hand back.

His hand had been invisible. It definitely wasn't normal. Just like the night before hadn't been normal. If his hand could disappear then there was every chance that the previous night had been real. He stood in front of the cupboard door about an hour after he was supposed to have gone to bed along with the Dursleys. He knocked on the door. The door creaked open to reveal Harry stood in the small dimly lit space and Danny could make out the shape of half a crutch sticking out the ceiling. He hadn't even noticed that he had been using the spare crutch. Harry was real and for some strange reason that Danny couldn't figure out they had tried to keep him a secret.

"There was a letter for you and more of them came this morning." He said with a smile.


End file.
